California State University, San Marcos


California State University San Marcos is a public university in San Marcos, California, United States. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the California State University system.
CSUSM offers 43 bachelor's degree programs, 24 master's degree programs, 8 credential programs, and 1 joint doctoral with the University of California, San Diego.
CSUSM is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and also Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The university had a total undergraduate enrollment of 15,431 students in fall 2024. In 2024, the university had 284 tenured faculty. The Cal State San Marcos Cougars compete in NCAA Division II as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

History

Efforts by community and political leaders to bring a state university to North County date back to the 1960s. In 1969, the chancellor of the CSU system, Glenn S. Dumke, issued a report concluding that there was "an ultimate need" for a new university campus in the area.
In 1978, State Senator William A. Craven won $250,000 in state funding for a North County satellite campus of San Diego State University, which opened at Lincoln Junior High School in Vista with an enrollment of 148 students. In 1982, the satellite moved to larger quarters in an office building on Los Vallecitos Boulevard in San Marcos. When it appeared that the new San Marcos campus would be a satellite of San Diego State, CSU Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds insisted on an independent university with the goal of creating leadership opportunities for women and minorities. CSUSM would also go on to attract more STEM-focused students than SDSU, as well. In September 1985, Senate Bill 1060, introduced by Craven, passed, appropriating $250,000 for a feasibility study on building a university in North County. By 1988, the enrollment of SDSU North County had reached 1,250 students, and the CSU board of trustees purchased for $10.6 million the future site of CSUSM, the 304-acre Prohoroff Poultry Farm in San Marcos. The hillside site lies approximately due east of the Pacific Ocean and due north of downtown San Diego. The CSU trustees also requested $51.8 million in state funds for the first phase of construction.
In 1989, Governor George Deukmejian signed Senate Bill 365 into law, officially creating Cal State San Marcos. Bill W. Stacy was named the university's first president in June 1989, and over the next year recruited the first 12 members of the faculty. These dozen "founding faculty" played an important role in the university's early years and are today honored at Founders Plaza on the CSUSM campus. Stacy and the faculty were given $3.9 million to begin the university.
On February 23, 1990, ground was broken on the new campus, and construction began at the former chicken farm. In the fall of 1990, the first class enrolled at the new university: 448 juniors and seniors. While construction continued on the permanent campus, classes continued to be held at the former SDSU satellite location on Los Vallecitos Boulevard. An industrial facility on Stone Drive was also used to provide lab space for the biology program, and was used through January 1993. In 1991, the university conferred its first degrees, as seven students were awarded Bachelor of Arts degrees. CSUSM's first official commencement ceremony was held in May 1992.
In the fall of 1992, the permanent CSUSM campus at Twin Oaks Valley Road opened. The first buildings were the Administrative Building, Academic Hall, Science Hall I, and the University Commons. The university had grown to 1,700 students and 305 faculty and staff.
The university continued to grow rapidly, and by 1993 CSUSM's enrollment had grown to almost 2,500 and it received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In 1995, CSUSM admitted its first freshman class and offered lower-division courses for the first time, with enrollment growing to 3,600. The same year, the College of Education was fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
In 1996, CSUSM received two major gifts: $1 million from Jean and W. Keith Kellogg II, the first of a series of gifts for the Kellogg Library, and a $1.3 million bequest from Lucille Griset Spicer to begin a student loan fund.
In early 1997, Stacy departed as university president, and Alexander Gonzalez was named interim president. In 1998, the CSU Board of Trustees made Gonzalez permanent president. By 1997, enrollment had grown to 4,400, the faculty had grown to 300. The university also received additional major donations, including a $2.3 million gift from Leonard Evers to establish the Evers Computer Scholarship and a donation from Bob and Ruth Mangrum to build the Mangrum Track & Soccer Field. The university intercollegiate athletics department opened in 1998, and initially consisted of men's and women's golf, cross-country, and track and field.
A campus "building boom" began, with the Foundation Classroom Buildings opening in December 1996, University Hall in 1998, Science Hall II and the Arts Building in August 2002, and the University Village Apartments and the nearby M. Gordon Clarke Field House in 2003. The University Village Apartments were the university's first on-campus housing; the new student union, known as "the Clarke," was funded by $1.2 million gift pledged in 1998 by Helene Clarke in honor of her husband.
The campus' first freestanding library, the five-story, nearly Kellogg Library later opened. The campus' Starbucks coffee is next to it.
In 2004, Karen S. Haynes was named the university's third president, following Gonzalez's departure the year previously, and the university announced that it planned to establish a nursing school. In the fall of 2004, over 7,000 students enrolled.
In 2006, the College of Business Administration's Markstein Hall opened, funded by a 2003 state grant of almost $25 million and a 2005 pledge of $5 million from Kenneth and Carole Markstein. The School of Nursing opened in the fall of 2006.
The university's first parking garage, the six-floor, 1,605-space Parking Structure I, is near the main campus. The 106,509 gross square foot Social and Behavioral Sciences Building at the north end of the campus is next to it.
CSUSM also has an Extended Learning program. According to its website:
Extended Learning at California State University San Marcos serves as the academic outreach arm of the university. As a unit within the Academic Affairs Division, EL is North San Diego County's premier provider of continuing education and training programs. Cal State San Marcos, and—by extension, EL—is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

For the 2011–2012 academic year, tuition and fees rose to $6,596, a 31% increase attributed to the state's budget crisis; it was the largest such percentage increase in the United States.
In 2023, the California State University Board of Trustees agreed to rename Craven Hall to the Administrative Building, as students and alumni voiced concerns over William A. Craven's history of racist remarks. Despite Craven's influential role in the founding of CSUSM, students felt that his reputation did not align with the university's goals as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
In 2024, CSUSM broke ground on Black Oak Hall, a new housing building and dining commons. It is expected to be completed by fall 2026. The structure will be seven stories tall, include a 10,000-square-foot dining facility, and will provide housing for more than 500 students. The dining commons will be named Kwíila Dining, utilizing the Luiseño word for "acorn."

Academics

The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.
The university has four colleges:
The five most popular undergraduate majors for 2021 graduates were:
  • Health Professions and Related Programs at 10%
  • Social Sciences at 19%
  • Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services at 17%
  • Communications, Journalism, and Related Programs at 6%
  • Psychology at 9%

    Rankings

CSUSM Social Mobility Outcomes include: #1 in the U.S. in the 2022 Social Mobility Index & Top 3% in National Economic Mobility Index.
The 2022–2023 USNWR Best Regional Colleges West Rankings ranks San Marcos 7 on Top Performers on Social Mobility, 10 on Best Undergraduate Teaching, 17 on Top Public Schools, 33 in Best Value Schools and 293 in Nursing.

Demographics

In 2022 59% of the students were female, 41% male. There are also a sizable number of transfer students from community colleges. The "local admissions area community colleges" for CSU San Marcos are Mount San Jacinto College in Riverside County and Mira Costa College and Palomar College in San Diego County. About 50 percent of transfer students are from North San Diego County, 2 percent from San Diego County elsewhere; and 48 percent from Riverside County.
This CSU is still considered somewhat of a "small school"—especially in comparison to other San Diego County institutions such as San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego. Looking to expand, the campus master plan envisions the university growing to an enrollment of 25,000.

Student life

There are over 100 recognized student organizations on campus. The student newspaper is called The Cougar Chronicle.

Greek life

CSUSM recognizes several fraternities and sororities, each belonging to one of three different governing councils. Social fraternities belong to the Inter-fraternity Council, while social sororities belong to the Panhellenic Council.
Additionally, cultural-interest fraternities and sororities belong to the Multicultural Greek Council.